ING Groep NV Has $9.71 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

ING Groep NV lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $500.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.